DURHAM, N.C. (AP) -- A key player goes out with an injury and
suddenly, Sheana Mosch is Duke's star.
|  | | Sheana Mosch, left, was everywhere for Duke on Sunday. |
Mosch had her third straight big game since teammate Alana Beard
was sidelined by a dislocated thumb, making all 12 of her shots in
scoring a career-high 30 points as No. 4 Duke beat No. 15 Clemson
92-42 Sunday.
The Blue Devils (20-1, 8-1 ACC) handed the Lady Tigers their
worst loss in 21 years and won for the 11th straight time since a
93-75 loss at Clemson on Dec. 9.
"We just remembered what it felt like to lose there," said
Duke's Iciss Tillis, who scored 16 points. "It felt awful. We
didn't want it to happen again. I guess it was payback time."
Was it ever.
Duke dominated from the opening tip. The Blue Devils scored the
first seven points, led 56-19 at halftime and never let Clemson
(15-5, 6-3) mount any sort of run in the second half.
The Blue Devils shot 56.5 percent, made 17 steals, hit a
season-high 10 3-point baskets and outrebounded Clemson 41-22,
including a 23-7 advantage in the first half.
The only more lopsided loss for Clemson in the program's 26-year
history was to Old Dominion, 112-58 on Nov. 30, 1979.
"I've seen UConn play on television, I saw Notre Dame play on
television, we played Tennessee, and that performance out there
today was as good as I've seen," Clemson coach Jim Davis said.
"Just judging on this performance solely, they can compete with
anybody in America."
Mosch, who had 21 points at halftime, also came up with 11
rebounds, six assists and five steals. A 5-foot-10 sophomore, she
has become Duke's go-to player since Beard, the team's leading
scorer, dislocated her right thumb against North Carolina State on
Jan. 18.
In the three games Beard has missed, Mosch has scored 25, 29 and
now 30 points and made 34-of-46 shots. Smiling as she leaned back
in her chair, she seemed almost reluctant to talk about her recent
surge.
"I get a lot of my points from running the court in our
transition offense, a lot of wide-open layups," Mosch said. "I've
been working on my jump shot a lot lately and fortunately, that's
been falling for me. I guess that's it."
Before the last three games, Mosch had been averaging just 7.4
points.
"That's as perfect a game as I've seen a kid play," Davis
said. "My hat's off to her. She could have beaten us by herself
today."
At one point, she was. After making two free throws with 16:21
left, Mosch had 25 points to Clemson's 24.
"She's been practicing like this for a long time now, so we're
just really happy she's playing this way in games," Duke coach
Gail Goestenkors said. "I think people that haven't seen our
practices may be surprised and wondering where Sheana's come from.
We've seen it all along."
Georgia Schweitzer added 13 points for Duke, while Marci Glenney
led Clemson with 10 points. Chrissy Floyd, the Lady Tigers' leading
scorer with a 17.8 average, scored only seven on 3-for-8 shooting.
Mosch and Tillis combined for Duke's first 23 points. A third
Duke player did not score until Schweitzer hit a 3-pointer at the
12:05 mark. She hit another a little more than a minute later, part
of a 21-2 run that took the lead from 21-10 to 42-12.
An 11-0 run that Mosch capped with a layup made it 53-14 with
1:24 left in the half. Clemson never got closer than 33 points in
the second half.
|
|
ALSO SEE
Women's College Basketball Scoreboard
Clemson Clubhouse
Duke Clubhouse
|
